Indiana guard Victor Oladipo (4) in action against Temple in a third-round game of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 24, 2013, in Dayton, Ohio. / Skip Peterson/AP

Written by

Patrick Hayes

Detroit Free Press Special Writer

Patrick Hayes writes for the Detroit Pistons blog PistonPowered. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Detroit Free Press nor its writers. PistonPowered writers will contribute a column every Friday here. Contact Patrick anytime at patrickhayes13@gmail.com or on Twitter @patrick_hayes.

The Pistons have been unofficially eliminated from the Eastern Conference Playoff race for weeks now, but now that the Milwaukee Bucks beating the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday made Detroitís exclusion official, fans can comfortably turn their attention to what has been the lone highlight of recent off-seasons, the NBA Draft.

Since the Pistons will pick in the lottery, they wonít have to send this yearís first round pick to the Charlotte Bobcats to complete the Ben Gordon trade. With the Pistons having the fifth worst record in the league and still within striking distance of falling behind Phoenix and Cleveland down the stretch, the Pistons could be in position to get their highest pick since picking in the lottery became a yearly routine starting in 2010.

So who will the pick be? With plenty of debate at the top of this yearís draft and no consensus No. 1 player, itís impossible to even speculate who will still be around when the Pistons draft. But itís a safe bet that if any of these three players are still around, theyíd be a great addition to the Greg Monroe-Andre Drummond-Brandon Knight trio the Pistons figure to have in their lineup in some role next season.

1. Victor Oladipo, Indiana: The Pistons have been desperate to re-establish a defensive identity ever since Joe Dumars momentarily betrayed his championship roots by focusing on offensive-minded players in the 2009 offseason. With Drummond protecting the rim, the Pistons have a start. Adding Oladipo, already a lockdown perimeter defender capable of dominating both with his on-ball defense and with his other-worldly knack for finding himself in passing lanes, to a perimeter defense that also features Knight, and underrated and improving defensive player, the Pistons would suddenly have the look of a competent defensive unit next season. With Monroe and, if heís re-signed, Jose Calderon, in the lineup, the Pistons would still have a couple of sieves on the court, but the awareness of the others would certainly help the teamís less capable defenders.

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2. Trey Burke, Michigan: Chris Paul is already one of the greatest point guards who ever played in the NBA. I donít want to put unneeded pressure on Burke by comparing him to Paul, but Ö

I have no expectation that Burke will step into the NBA and become the leagueís best point guard as Paul is. Thatís unreasonable. But style-wise, there are exciting similarities. Both are similar in stature, both are similarly crafty offensively to offset the size they give up and, most importantly, both have an instinctive understanding of passing angles and possess court vision that very few have. Whether or not the Pistons consider taking a point guard will depend largely on their plans with Calderon, but if the team isnít fully committed to bringing Calderon back and Burke is available when they pick, he might be too productive and possesses a skill set thatís such a commodity in what is increasingly a point guardís league that heíd be hard to pass up.

3. Otto Porter Jr., Georgetown: A lackluster performance from Porter as his Hoyas were upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament deprived basketball fans of getting an extended look at one of the college gameís top stars this March. Itís unclear whether that would hurt his draft stock at all, but the Pistons had pretty good luck with a former Hoya who also played on a disappointing tournament team -- Monroeís final game with the Hoyas ended with a shocking March disappointment in 2010.

Porter Jr. is an incredibly efficient wing player who shot nearly 50 percent from the field, made 42 percent of his 3-pointers, rebounds well for his position and is good at using his long arms to get in passing lanes. His offensive versatility and range would prove a nice complement for the Monroe-Drummond duo.

There are certainly other players the Pistons will consider, particularly if they move into the top three picks. And with combo guard Marcus Smart from Oklahoma State likely to go in the top half of the lottery, you never know if Joe Dumars will take the opportunity to add to his precious collection of point guards who arenít really point guards. But Iím a firm believer that teams, particularly in the lottery, too often ignore production in favor of Ďupside,í and that would be a mistake if any of the three players above are around when the Pistons are picking.